Eddie Garcia, former chief of the Dallas Police Department, is expected to be named the next police chief of Fort Worth, according to sources familiar with the selection process who spoke with The Dallas Express.

The city has scheduled a public meet-and-greet with finalists for August 14 and plans to make a final decision by late August.

Garcia currently serves in Austin as an assistant city manager, overseeing public safety. He stepped down from his post in Dallas in October 2024, concluding a nearly four-year tenure. Before that, he led the San Jose Police Department in California.

Fort Worth launched a national search following Chief Neil Noakes’ retirement in May. The four finalists publicly named earlier this month are:

Though the city has not made an official appointment, insiders tell The Dallas Express that Garcia is the clear frontrunner.

When Garcia left Dallas, he told Fox 4 his decision was driven by family and a desire for a better work-life balance after more than three decades in law enforcement.

“I’ve been sprinting for a while, and it would have been 33 years in February. My kids played a big role in it. They are young adults, and they are going to start families of their own and I want to be present. I wanted something with balance, because there is no balance in this job. There is no balance, that’s not a word a police chief should utter in this job because there isn’t. If you can find something to work hard at while able to find balance, that’s something I was ready for in my next chapter.”

His remarks suggest the Fort Worth role may offer the stability he was seeking — a chance to continue serving in law enforcement without the intensity that defined his final years in Dallas.

City officials credited Garcia with helping reduce violent crime across Dallas. However, a third-party report commissioned by Downtown Dallas Inc. found violent crime in the city’s core rose 42% between 2019 and 2023, even as other areas saw improvement. The same report showed overall crime in Downtown was up 34% over that period.

As previously reported by The Dallas Express, DPD continues to face a chronic staffing shortage, operating with nearly 1,000 fewer officers than recommended by a city-commissioned study.

The Dallas Express reached out to the City of Fort Worth for comment but did not receive a response by the time of publication.